QBullet: Pellet Guns to Stay; Sharma Clarifies Short Skirt Comment

All the top stories of the day.

Pellet guns will be used only in rarest of rare cases. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Kashmir Scars of Pellet Guns)

1. Pellet Guns in Kashmir to be Used Only in ‘Rarest of Rare’ Cases

A committee headed by Joint Secretary of the Home Ministry TVSN Prasad on Monday recommended the use of chilli-filled grenades and ‘stun lac shells’ for mob control over the controversial pellet guns. The committee, however, permitted the use of pellet guns in ‘rarest of rare’ cases, according to an Indian Express report.

Senior government functionaries have arrived at this conclusion after extensive consultations with security forces and examining the ground realities in Kashmir Valley. The option of firing pellet guns will remain but these will be used only in rarest of rare cases. The expert committee also recommended Standard Operating Procedures for deployment of this new assortment of non-lethal weapons.

<b>Indian Express</b>

Source: Indian Express

Also read: Army Proposes Replacing Pellet Guns with Chilli Bomb, Pepper Shots

2. Mahesh Sharma Gives Clarification on ‘Short Skirt’ Remark

Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma on Monday gave a clarification on his ‘avoid skirts’ remark that has landed him in controversy. According to The Hindu, the Minister said that his remarks were out of concern for foreign tourists and there is no harm in ‘taking precautions’.

I had said it in the context of visiting religious places like temple. I had talked about respecting religious places like if you go to a Gurudwara you cover your head and take off your shoes before entering a temple.

Mahesh Sharma, Union Tourism Minister

Mr Sharma while addressing media in Agra on Sunday said that women tourists visiting India should not wear small dresses like skirts and avoid roaming around late in the night without an escort.

Source: The Hindu

Also Read: Our Buri Ladki Turns So (Not) Sanskari, Thanks to Mahesh Sharma

3. Should Election Candidates Declare Only Heinous or Pending Cases?

The Supreme Court on Monday said that it would look into the matter of whether it should be compulsory for an election candidate to declare all cases pending against them to the Election Commission, even those that are not serious in nature, according to a Times of India report.

Criminal cases are lodged against a politician for blocking the road in protest, for which a chargesheet has been filed but charges are not framed. Can this suppression of facts by a politician during nomination deprive voters to make an informed choice?

Bench of Justice Rajan Gogoi and Justice PC Pant

The court’s observation came as it stayed a Patna high court order setting aside the election of BJP MP Chhedi Paswan from Sasaram constituency in Bihar.

Source: Times of India

4. Maharashtra May Distance Itself from Beef-Ban ‘Monitors’, But Facts Say Otherwise

The Maharashtra government may seek to distance itself from the controversial decision in May by its animal husbandry department for ‘Honorary Animal Welfare Officers’, but an Indian Express report shows that the it may have been an official initiative.

The records in the possession of <i>The Indian Express</i> clearly show that the call for applications was an official initiative launched through government channels, in the form of a letter dated 12 May 2016, signed by SS Bhosale, the then commissioner of animal husbandry, and sent to all the seven offices of regional joint commissioners and 33 district deputy commissioners of the department. Bhosale’s letter was also copied to the office of the principal secretary (animal husbandry) in the ministry, the same official who has now claimed that Bhosale’s move was a personal initiative.

Indian Express

The ‘Honorary Animal Welfare Officers’ were reportedly hired to serve as ‘eyes to monitor’ the beef ban.

Source: Indian Express

Also read: No Surprise: Gau Rakshaks Sign Up to Track Beef Ban in Maharashtra

5. Oops! Sorry About the Delhi Traffic Mr Kerry

Only a few minutes after US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Delhi, reports of his cavalcade stuck in Delhi’s traffic jam surfaced.

Kerry arrived to participate in the 2nd Indo-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, where terrorism emanating from Pakistan and other important issues including economic matters like visas, will be discussed.

Kerry is scheduled to be one of the co-chairs of the dialogue on Tuesday, along with US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. The Indian co-chairs will be External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman. The US delegation will see top officials from 12 US government departments hold talks with their Indian counterparts.

Read more on The Quint.

6. India to Keep Pakistan Out of BRICS Regional Meet

New Delhi is planning to isolate Pakistan in the international scenario on the issue of terrorism after Islamabad’s efforts of global outreach on Kashmir, according to an Indian Express report.

Top government sources told <i>The Indian Express </i>that Pakistan will be excluded from the BRICS regional outreach this time, to be held in Goa on 15-16 October. India will also raise the issue of terrorism with the international community at the G-20 summit in China next week, followed by the NAM summit in Venezuela and the UNGA in September-end. BRICS has a tradition of having an outreach event with the region where the host country is located.

Indian Express

Source: Indian Express

Also Read: Rethinking India’s Approach Towards Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir

7. Stand By My Comment on Gangrape: Azam Khan

Urban Development Minister in the Uttar Pradesh government, Azam Khan, courted controversy when he called the Bulandshahr gangrape incident a ‘political conspiracy’. On Monday, hours after Supreme Court called his remarks ‘objectionable and insensitive’, Khan said he will stick to his comment, according to a Times of India report.

I stand by whatever I said about the Bulandshahr rape case and will continue to do so in future as well. As a part of the government, I see it as my duty to address such incidents and demand immediate and stringent action against those involved in such heinous crimes.

Azam Khan, Urban Development Minister, Uttar Pradesh

Source: Times of India

Also Read: QRant: Azam Khan’s Back at It With His Big Mouth and Insensitivity

8. NIA Summons Syed Shah Geelani’s Elder Son for Questioning

National Investigating Agency (NIA) has issued a summon for Naeem Geelani, the elder son of hardline separatist leader Syed Shad Geelani. The agency has asked Geelani to appear for questioning at its Srinagar sub-office.

The case pertains to a PE registered by the NIA to probe flow of funds into various bank accounts from overseas which in turn is allegedly being used for anti-national activities in the Valley. The hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference led by Geelani issued a statement terming the questioning of its leaders as an act of “terrifying and maligning” the family of its leader.

Source: PTI

Also Read: Geelani, Mirwaiz Arrested While Marching to ‘Martyrs’ Graveyard’

9. Principal Sentenced to 10 Years Imprisonment for Chhapra Midday Meal Tragedy

A district court in Chhapra on Monday sentenced Gandaman primary school principal to 10 years imprisonment in connection with the 2013 midday meal tragedy, in which 23 children had died after eating soyabean curry, according to a Times of India report.

The additional district judge II of Saran court Vijay Anand Tiwari sentenced Gandaman primary school principal Mina Devi to 10 years jail term under IPC sections of 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and seven years under section 308 (criminal negligence). The court treated it as rarest of rare case and decided to run sentences consecutively and not concurrently as done in most cases, the court has also slapped a fine of Rs 2.5 lakh under Section 304 and Rs 1.25 under Section 308 on the convict.

Times of India

Source: Times of India

Also Read: Healthy or Not, No Eggs in Midday Meals in MP

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